Ohio lawmakers are going bit-by-bit in their attempt to repeal HB6, a controversial energy law. While the nuclear power plant bailout portion of the bill has already been eliminated, legislators are targeting other portions of the measure.
There are two bills set for hearings in the Senate. One, SB117, would eliminate the hundreds of millions of dollars in subsidies for two coal plants, owned by the Ohio Valley Electric Corporation, or OVEC.
The other bill, SB89, would restore Ohio's renewable energy standards. Both bills reverse actions taken through HB6 which is now at the center of a federal bribery investigation.
Rep. Bill Seitz (R-Cincinnati) has signaled that there's not much support for these bills in the House.
"I don't anticipate that any of the bills that have been introduced on these subjects will pass," Seitz says.
The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio has also started an audit of the ratepayer money going towards OVEC.
There are other bipartisan bills in the House that would completely repeal HB6, which would include reviving the standards for renewable energy and energy efficiency, and end the OVEC subsidies. It appears to have support among Republicans and Democrats, but House Republican leaders have not moved the bills forward.
